Thursday, May 17, 2018

Esperon eyes stronger PH-Russia security relations

A bilateral meeting between Philippine and Russian security officials in Moscow on May 18-19 aims to strengthen the two nations’ security cooperation.

The bilateral discussion builds on the successful efforts of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in solidifying Philippine-Russian diplomatic relations along President Rodrigo Duterte’s independent foreign policy, when Cayetano met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the same city last May 15, said a news release issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser on Thursday.

The leader of the Philippine delegation, National Security Adviser and Director General of the National Security Council (NSC), Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr., will meet with Secretary Nikolay Patruchev of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF) to follow through on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on the security cooperation between the NSC and SCRF that was signed in May last year.

Other members of the Philippine delegation who will meet with their Russian counterparts are senior officials representing the departments of defense, interior and local government, and justice, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police.

They are expected to explore cooperation mechanisms on information exchange, capacity-building, training, and other matters that are mutually beneficial to both nations.